Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ pounds have been spent on equipping badger cull marksmen with radios that link them directly to police, the Guardian has learned.

Police have advised the government to invest in the same communications system they use to make it easier for officers to get to conflicts with cull saboteurs in remote areas where the mobile phone signal is poor.

However, anti-cull activists plan to turn the tables on the marksmen by investing in devices that trace the signals produced by the radios, meaning they can pinpoint their position and disrupt shooting.

Another hi-tech tactic protesters are planning to use is deploying infra-red night vision on drones to hunt for marksmen and badgers caught in traps.

The government is expected to announce imminently that the cull will be expanded into new areas this autumn.

Defra confirmed the equipment was provided to those taking part in cull operations. A spokesperson said: “We take the safety of the public and those undertaking badger control operations very seriously. That is why, on the advice of local police forces, radio equipment has been hired by Defra for licence holders to provide a reliable means of communication should any incident arise.”

Airwave equipment is considered by police to be the most effective network because mobile reception can be unreliable in the sort of remote areas where much of the culling takes place.

Protest against badger culling and fox hunting in central London this month. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Jay Tiernan, of Stop the Cull, whose members take direct action against the cull, said it would invest in detectors that pick up Airwave signals. This would allow protesters to pinpoint marksmen and disrupt them.

Tiernan said: “Shooters will face a choice between being cut off completely from police backup, or only having backup at the cost of being quickly located by antis. The irony that it is the very equipment purchased to protect them being their weakest security point, hasn’t been lost on saboteurs keen to get out there with these devices.

“It’s going to lead to many late night chases across cull zones and safety will be a major issue now that police forces are so badly stretched in many areas.”

Evidence from previous culls has shown that fox populations increase when badgers are culled, which could reduce the numbers of rare ground-nesting birds.

After a three-year battle, the Information Commissioner’s Office last month ordered Natural England to provide the analysis, but the conservation body has appealed against the ruling, preventing the information from being made public before the new round of culling.

Natural England claims the data will enable activists to better identify the cull zones and potentially harass the marksmen and farmers conducting the cull.